Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM's address at Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas Mahasammelan in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Johar  Madhya Pradesh! Ram Ram Seva Johar! My greetings to all the tribal brothers and sisters! How are you? I am feeling very happy to meet you. Ram Ram to all of you again.
I am proud that the honour of the first tribal governor of Madhya Pradesh goes to Shri Mangubhai Patel ji who spent his entire life for the welfare of the tribal community. Throughout his life, he remained a dedicated tribal ‘sevak’ first through a social organization and later as a minister in the government.
Sitting on the dais Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji, my colleagues in the Union Cabinet Narendra Singh Tomar ji, Jyotiraditya Scindia ji, Virendra Kumar ji, Prahlad Patel ji, Faggan Singh Kulaste ji, L. Murugan ji, Ministers of MP Government, my parliamentary colleagues, MLAs and my brothers and sisters of the tribal society who came from every nook and corner of Madhya Pradesh to bless us. I wish you all on the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda.
Today is an important day for the entire country and for the entire tribal society. Today, India is celebrating its first Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas. For the first time in the country after independence, the art and culture of the tribal society and their contribution in the freedom movement and nation building are being remembered with pride and they are being honored on such a grand scale. I congratulate the entire nation for this new resolution in the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence. I also express my gratitude to the tribal society of Madhya Pradesh. We have continuously received your affection and trust over the years. This affection is getting stronger every moment. Your love gives us the energy to work for you relentlessly.
Friends,
It is with the spirit of this service that today the government of Shivraj ji has launched many big schemes for the tribal society. I tried to understand the meaning of the songs which the people of tribal groups were performing on stage with gusto. Since I have spent a significant period of my life among the tribal communities, I have experienced that there is some philosophy in everything they say. They present a purpose of life in their dances, songs and traditions. And it was quite natural for me to turn my attention to this song today. And when I followed the lyrics of the song closely and I am not repeating the song, but every word that you said gives the reason to the people of the country to live their life well. Through your dances and songs, you conveyed that ‘a human body is only for a few days and will ultimately mingle with the soil. Made merriment, but forgot God.’ Look at these tribal people, what they are telling us. They are educated in a true sense and we have yet to learn. They further say: ‘Spent life in merriment, did not make life meaningful. Had a lot of fights in life and mischief at home, but was pointless to repent when the end came. The land, the fields and the barns do not belong to anyone. It is futile to boast about them. The material wealth is of no use. It will remain here when we depart.’ Look at the words spoken through songs and dances. My tribal brothers and sisters, who live in the forests, have assimilated the best philosophy of life. What can be a greater strength of a country than this! What can be a greater legacy of a country than this! What can be a bigger asset of the country than this!
Friends,
It is because of the spirit of this service that today the government of Shivraj ji has launched many big schemes for the tribal society. Be it the ‘Ration Aapke Gram Yojana’ or ‘Madhya Pradesh Sickle Cell Mission’, both these programs will play an important role in improving health and nutrition in tribal society. I am also satisfied that the free ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana helped the poor tribal families in a big way during the Corona period. Now when low-cost ration will reach near your house in the village, your time and extra expenses will also be saved.
Even before the launch of the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the tribal society and the poor of the country have been getting free treatment for many diseases. I am happy that tribal families are also getting free vaccinations at a rapid pace in Madhya Pradesh. There are also reports of question marks being raised about vaccination in the educated countries of the world. But my tribal brothers and sisters understand the importance of vaccination, acknowledge it and are playing their part in saving the country. What can be a bigger sagacity than this? The entire world is battling this biggest pandemic of 100 years. All the members of the tribal society coming forward for vaccination to deal with the biggest pandemic is indeed a proud event in itself. The educated people living in the cities have a lot to learn from these tribal brothers.
Friends,
Before coming to Bhopal, I have had the privilege of inaugurating the Bhagwan Birsa Munda Freedom Fighter Museum in Ranchi. It is our duty to bring the heroic stories of tribal heroes and heroines of the freedom struggle in front of the country and to introduce them to the new generation. During the period of servitude, there were many struggles against foreign rule including Khasi-Garo movement, Mizo movement, Kol movement. Be it the bravery of Gond Maharani Veer Durgavati or the sacrifice of Queen Kamalapati, the country cannot forget them. The struggle of the brave Maharana Pratap cannot be imagined without the brave Bheels who sacrificed themselves while fighting with Rana Pratap in the battle field. We are all indebted to them. We can never repay this debt, but we can definitely fulfill our responsibility by cherishing this heritage and according it its proper place.
Brothers and sisters,
Today, when I am talking about preserving our heritage, I would also recall the famous historian of the country, Shiv Shaheer Babasaheb Purandare ji. In the morning itself, I came to know that he passed away. The contribution made by 'Padma Vibhushan' Babasaheb Purandare ji in taking the life and history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to the masses is priceless. The government here also honored him with the Kalidas Award. The ideals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which Babasaheb Purandare ji put forth before the country, will continue to inspire us. I offer my heartfelt tributes to Babasaheb Purandare ji.
Friends,
Some people are a bit surprised when we discuss the contribution of tribal society in nation building from national forums. Such people find it hard to believe that the tribal society has contributed so much in strengthening the culture of India. It is because the contribution of the tribal society was either not shared with the country, or done in a very patchy manner. Efforts were made to keep it in the dark. This happened because those who ran the government in the country for decades after independence gave priority to their selfish politics. Despite being about 10 percent of the country's population, the culture and the potential of the tribal society were completely ignored for decades. Their suffering, health and the education of the children did not matter to them.
Friends,
The contribution of tribal society in the cultural journey of India has been inexhaustible. You tell me, can the successes in the life of Lord Ram be imagined without the contribution of the tribal society? Of course, not! The time spent with the forest dwellers contributed significantly in making a prince Maryada Purushottam. During the period of exile, Lord Rama had got inspiration from the tradition, customs, way of living, every aspect of life of the Vanvasi society.
Friends,
It is necessary to speak regularly on the crimes committed by the earlier governments which did not give due importance and priority to the tribal society. It is necessary to discuss this on every forum. Ever since I began my public life in Gujarat decades ago, I have seen how some political parties in the country have deprived the tribal society of every comfort and resources of development. They were deprived of all amenities and prosperity, and votes were sought from them election after election in the name of providing these amenities. But what should have been done for the tribal community, as much as it should have been done, it fell short. They did not. They were left helpless. After becoming the Chief Minister of Gujarat, I started many campaigns to change the conditions in the tribal society there. When the country gave an opportunity to serve you in 2014, I accorded top priority to the interests of the tribal community.
Brothers and sisters,
Today every colleague of the tribal society is being given a fair share and participation in the development of the country in true sense. Whether it is houses for the poor, toilets, free electricity and gas connections, schools, roads, free treatment, all this is happening in the tribal areas at the same pace as it is happening in the rest of the country. If thousands of crores of rupees are directly reaching the bank accounts of the farmers of the rest of the country, then the farmers of tribal areas are also getting it at the same time. Today, if crores of families of the country are being supplied with pure drinking water through pipes, then the same willpower is there to take it to the tribal families with the same speed. You know this better than me how much the sisters and daughters of the tribal areas had to suffer for water for so many years. I am happy that 30 lakh families in rural areas of Madhya Pradesh have now started getting tap water under the Jal Jeevan Mission. And most of them are in our tribal areas.
Friends,
Whenever there was mention of tribal development, there was a common refrain that tribal areas are inaccessible geographically and it is difficult to provide facilities there. These explanations were nothing but excuses for not doing anything. Such excuses were made not to give priority to the facilities to the tribal society. They were left to their own fate.
Friends,
Due to such politics and thinking, the tribal dominated districts were deprived of even the basic facilities of development. Rather than making efforts for their development, these districts were tagged as backward.
Brothers and sisters,
No state, district, individual or society wants to be left behind in the race of development. Every individual, every society has aspirations and dreams. Today, the priority of our government is to try to give flight to these dreams and aspirations that have been kept deprived for years. With your blessings, development aspirations are being fulfilled in more than such 100 districts. Today priority is being given to tribal dominated aspirational districts in all the welfare schemes being made by the Central Government. More than 150 medical colleges have been sanctioned in aspirational districts or districts where there is no hospital.
Friends,
The tribal region of the country has always been rich in terms of resources. But those who were in the government earlier, they followed the policy of exploiting these areas. We are following the policy of utilizing the potential of these regions properly. Today, whatever natural wealth emerges from the district for the development of the nation, a part of it is being used for the development of that district. Under the District Mineral Fund, about 50,000 crore rupees have been received by the states. Today your resources are being used only for you and your children. Now we have made many changes in the mining policies so that employment opportunities are also created in the tribal areas.
Brothers and sisters,
This virtuous period of independence is the time to build a self-reliant India. India's self-reliance is not possible without tribal participation. You must have seen that Padma Awards have been given recently. The entire world was stunned when the tribal society colleagues reached Rashtrapati Bhavan with no shoes on their feet. The people working in tribal and rural society are the real heroes of the country. They are our diamonds.
Brothers and sisters,
There has never been any dearth of talent in tribal society. But unfortunately, there was very little political will in the earlier governments to give opportunities to the tribal society. Creation is a part of tribal tradition. It really made me happy to see the works of the sisters of the tribal society before I came here. What magic do they have in these fingers? Creation is part of the tribal tradition, but tribal creation was not linked to the market. Can you imagine that something as simple as bamboo cultivation was entangled in a web of laws? Didn't our tribal brothers and sisters have the right to earn some money by cultivating bamboo and selling it? We changed this thinking by amending the forest laws.
Friends,
Now efforts are underway to make the society self-reliant which was made to wait for decades for the fulfillment of its small needs and which was neglected. Tribal society has been engaged in wood carving and stone art for centuries, but now a new market is being made available for their products. The products of tribal artists are also being sold online through the TRIFED portal in the domestic as well as foreign markets. The coarse grain, which was once being frowned upon, is also becoming the brand of India today.
Friends,
The Van Dhan Yojana, bringing forest produce under the purview of MSP, or giving new energy to the organized power of sisters are creating unprecedented opportunities in tribal areas. Earlier governments used to give MSP only on 8-10 forest produce. Today our government is giving MSP on about 90 forest products. See the difference between 9-10 and 90? We have linked more than 2500 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras with more than 37,000 Van Dhan Self Help Groups. Today about 7.5 lakh friends are associated with them and they are getting employment and self-employment. Our government has also taken sincere steps regarding the forest land. By handing over about 20 lakh land leases in the states, we have removed the huge concern of lakhs of tribal companions.
Brothers and sisters,
Our government is also giving special emphasis on education and skills of tribal youth. Eklavya Model Residential Schools are igniting a new light of education in the tribal areas. Today I got the opportunity to lay the foundation stone of 50 Eklavya Model Residential Schools here. Our target is to open about 750 such schools across the country. Many of these Eklavya schools have already started functioning. Seven years ago, the government was spending about 40,000 rupees on every student, today it is more than one lakh rupees. As a result, tribal students are getting more facilities. The central government is also giving scholarships to about 30 lakh tribal youth every year. Unprecedented work is also being done to connect tribal youth with higher education and research. Whereas only 18 Tribal Research Institutes were formed after independence, nine new institutes have been established in just seven years.
Friends,
Language was a big problem for the children of tribal society in studies. Now there is a lot of emphasis on teaching in the local language in the new National Education Policy. The children of our tribal society are certainly going to be benefited.
Brothers and sisters,
The effort of tribal society and Sabka Prayas  is the energy for building an exalted India in the virtuous period of independence. We will work day and night for the self-respect, self-confidence and rights of the tribal society. We are reiterating this resolution on Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas. As we celebrate Gandhi Jayanti, Sardar Patel's birth anniversary, Babasaheb Ambedkar's birth anniversary, the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda on 15th November will be celebrated every year across the country as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas.
Once again wishing you all the very best! Raise both hands with me and say with full force-
Bharat Mata Ki Jai!
Bharat Mata Ki Jai!
Bharat Mata Ki Jai!
Many thanks!
DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.